'After Dark', by Haruki Murakami

[Flip217]

I just finished this book a few minutes ago, so I thought I'd throw out a few thoughts about it, and this very interesting writer whom I've wanted to read for a long time now but hadn't got around to it.

* My friend Dave leant this to me, and when I asked him what it's about, he said "a girl can't wake up, and ends up traveling through her television, and her family wants to help her but they can't." And now, having read the story, I can't imagine why he described it that way; although those events happen in the story, they aren't the central feature at all in my opinion. But I wonder if the author has intentionally crafted a story that is easily interpreted in multiple ways.

* At times the story gets a bit surreal for my taste, as in the girl-through-the-television storyline mentioned above. But it certainly works with the rest of the haunting, melancholy and rather dark mood. My favorite parts, though, are the dialogue and Murakami's ability to clue us in to what people are saying and not saying, meaning and trying to hide, and revealing about themselves unconsciously.

* This is a very quick read; I started this afternoon and finished this evening, and stopped along the way for dinner, etc. And I find that I'm sorry there's not more to read about Takahashi and Mari and the rest.

Allrighty there's my first impressions on my first reading of After Dark by Haruki Murakami. I've enjoyed it so much I think I'll check out some of his other stuff -- I've heard good things about Norwegian Wood and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Any suggestions / thoughts / observations are appreciated.

[blid]

Gosh, this reply is coming very late, but I hope you don't mind.

I haven't read After Dark, but I've read a lot of Murakami. If you thought 'Dark' got too surreal at some points, I think you'd be better off reading Norwegian Wood of the books you named. It's his most straightforward story, but that's actually a departure from his regular work.

On the other hand, Wind-Up Bird is one of my favorite books, but it's fantastically surreal. I like those elements in his stories though, they create these really weird worlds that are even more escapist to me than normal literature, and the protagonist in that world is almost always a reserved lone male just kind of captured by the strange circumstances he's found himself in.

It's a pretty easy read, but it might actually be more fun to build up to it by reading a couple of his shorter novels like Wild Sheep Chase or Hard-Boiled Wonderland first. That's because Wind-Up Bird is undoubtedly Murakami's most epic novel, in terms of length as well in terms of the arcs in the plot. Once you get used to his style, if you still like it, the easy immersion into Wind Up Bird will be a real treat.

[cmcgarvey]

I've owned a hardcover copy for over a year now and have yet to crack it open.
No idea why.
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is my all time favorite by him.